A while ago I wrote a blogpost about the amazing comeback horse, Neville Bardos (linked here).

If you are not familiar with the story, this amazing horse – who was bought for a mere pittance – has grown into a stellar, formidable, oft-winning 3-Day eventing horse.

However, that is only part of the story…

Neville Bardos recently survived a horrible barn fire.  He should have died.   At the ER veterinary clinic, the doctors kept re-sampling Neville’s blood because the tests showed that his oxygen levels were so low, he should have been dead.  His lungs and throat were so severely burned, they never thought he’d ever come back.

But, he did.

Incredibly, he competed just 8 weeks later.

Amazing.

Some say that because Neville is a cribber, his throat and lungs were in better ‘shape’ for burns of this nature.  (dunno…)

And now Neville and his rider, Boyd Martin, are trying to make the US Olympic team.  (As an aside, both of Boyd’s parents were Olympians…- Wow!)

I found this extensive clip on MSNBC and wanted to share it with you so we could all start rooting for them.

I’ll keep you posted on their progress!

(Here is a link to the MSNBC video.)

I thought this was a cool shot - I took it from the video. (click image to watch video)

This is Boyd... don't have to twist my arm to get me to watch him... (click image to watch video)

Neville. Equally as handsome as his rider! (click image to watch video)

The team! (click image to watch video)

This photo links to his FB page -

The determined fighter... I cannot wait and I sure hope they make it! (click image to watch video)

HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!

Please help the nursemare babies! May Bucket Fund! Click image!

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Well, not really Rex Harrison… but his counterpart, Candi Cooper.

Have you heard of her?  I hadn’t either.  But I’m glad I researched her!

I stumbled upon Candi through my FB page.  Someone had posted this photo, which really caught my eye…

Candi with a Zebra she had just met!

For me, I couldn’t believe that anybody could get this close to a zebra she just met?!  (Zebras are notoriously rank.)

I was so impressed!

So, I dug a bit and came to realize that she was an animal communicator.

Hmmmmm.  (Hubby is rolling his eyes right now…)

I then clicked to go to her website.  Of course, since she is from my part of Southern CA, I could immediately pick out familiarities so I felt comfortable – but what really peaked my interest were the expressions on the animals’ faces that she was reading in her video (click here to watch her video).

Wow.  They looked really happy to have her there.

Hmmmmm, again.

Click image to watch her video!

NON-PROFIT STATUS – ALL FEES DONATED!

I then clicked around until I saw something quite unusual…

If I booked her to speak to my animals, my payment would be taken as a ‘donation’ for her non-profit, ADOPTION 911.  Her fees went to help animals…  Nice!

I then wondered who was associated with the Adoption 911 and I found out by digging deeper.  Clearly, Candi worked hard pounding the pavement to have so many local sponsors/donators/friends.  I admired that…  It takes time/determination to apply for a 501 and it takes time to keep one running.

Hmmmmm.  Hmmmmmm.

I reiterated the deal to myself:   if I booked her, the money would be tax-deductible and it would go towards helping animals who need adoption.

Win-Win.

SO I BOOKED HER…

So I booked an appointment via her online system.  The appointment was today at 9am via phone.

(I did send her an email through her website telling her who I was and that I would probably want to write about the session…so to be forewarned.  She wrote back and said she had no worries.)

Candi called at the appropriate time which was a good start…  I went downstairs into the guest bedrooms so I wouldn’t have any distractions.

Candi asked me how I was and I told her the truth – I had a stomach ache.  (Doh!  I can be such a doofus!)

Anyway, the first 10 minutes was a relaxation exercise which I quite enjoyed.  She told me that she would only have to do this once since the next time I called her, the relaxation would be triggered by her voice.

I liked that!  I wish all my friends had that effect on me!

After her total relaxation of me, my voice was about 6 octaves lower.  Ahhhhhhh.  I would have paid the money just for that!

BEAUTIFUL GIRL

The first horse I wanted to chat with was BG.  Truly, I wanted to chat with them all… but I actually wanted some information from BG.

Candi said that BG was there and ready… She described BG as a very girly girl (which she is) and very cerebral (which she is).  Candi described her as very ordered and a thinker.  If she was a human she’d be a personal organizer or an accountant.

I wanted to speak to BG. (Finn's full sister.)

Yup, that’s my girl!

I asked BG if she liked to trail ride (because to me, BG always seemed very serious and as if she was too busy doing her job to enjoy the ride – which bothered me).

Through Candi, BG responded that she does like to go out but more so with other horses, especially the light colored horse that she lives with (Finn).  She isn’t afraid to trail ride – she wanted to make that distinction – she was just busy because there was “so much to look out for out there”.

She also wanted to reiterate that she wasn’t non-trusting, but more that she just ‘wasn’t sure’…

I asked what she did like to do… Through Candi, BG said that the activity she liked the best was to take walks with me.  And, when she does take walks with me, she puts her nose right against my shoulder and stays very close.

I then asked Candi to tell BG that when I put cream in her ears and on her belly, it wass to help her with the bugs.  And, I might have to have her wear a blanket and hood this summer.

BG responded by saying that it would be better for her if I wasn’t as tentative and gentle when I put her flymask on (with ears) or her cream.  She suggested I be more firm when I grab her ears or rub her belly with cream because when I’m too gentle, it tickles.  She’d prefer I ‘just do it and get it over with’.

All true.

BG is a thinking horse.  She is very ordered and learns patterns quickly.  She is very occupied with keeping us safe on the trails and she does love to simply take walks with me – with me on the ground leading – and she does put her nose right into my shoulder as we go.  And, come to think of it, I am quite tentative when I put on her creams.  I think I am too light of a touch…  it is no wonder she jumps a little.

BG saddled and ready to go - and listening as always.

ROJO

Then we moved onto Rojo.

I wanted him to know how much I valued him and how much I appreciated that he was here.  I asked if he was happy.

Candi told me that Rojo had never met a girl before he met me.  (He was rounded up by the BLM and brought to the Carson City Prison where he was trained by an inmate.)  He told Candi that he loved the female energy.

She described him as a ‘ladies man’… (which is so true because he has finally settled down now that I’ve put him in with all the mares).

Rojo's adoption picture

Candi told me that Rojo adored me and looked very forward to galloping on top of mountains and going anywhere we wanted.  He knew he was there to be ridden and he was totally up for it.  He said that he loved me more like his ‘best girl’ than just a female – and he didn’t want my husband around.

I asked Candi to tell him that he has to let the farrier pick up his back left foot.  He told her that it makes him feel very vulnerable.  He had a rope on it before and he will never forget that feeling…  She told him that the rope would never happen again.  He said he would try to be more agreeable to the farrier.

I then asked why he didn’t like me to catch him.

He said that it wasn’t that he didn’t want to be caught.  It was that he would prefer me to put the rope around his neck first (they did that at the prison, he said) instead of putting the halter over his nose first.  The ‘nose first’ part was too overwhelming.  Also, he didn’t like the color of his halter.  He would prefer a lighter color.  He would prefer blue, not red.

I asked if he was happy and he replied with a resounding YES.  I asked if he remembered being wild and he showed Candi a picture from a hilltop.  She said it was beautiful.

I asked if he was ready to ride with me.  She said he was totally ready and said, LET’S GO!

Candi said that Rojo was a very emotional horse.  His emotions for me were very heartfelt and strong – almost as if he had a crush on me.  (I swear, he looks at me like that…)

Rojo does stare right into my eyes – so odd for a horse.  He reminds me of Aladdin in so many ways – especially his sweetness.  Hubby has remarked that Rojo doesn’t like him…  And Rojo did let me catch him today when I put the rope over his neck first.  Hmmmmm.

I’m very eager to see what happens this weekend when I ride him for the first time this season.

Oh, and at the end of the session, Candi asked how my stomach felt… I thought about it and told her that I was now fine.

Bonus!

Rojo, far right, relaxing with all the ladies...

END RESULT

My end result is that I now want to speak to all of my horses and dogs and cats!

I’d love to know more and I’d love to see if I can solve some nagging issues I have with Bodhi, Remi and Wrigley.  I’d like to ask Bodhi not to fight with everyone.  I’d like to ask Wrigley to not be so pushy.  I’d like to ask Remi why she looks at me so disgusted sometimes…

I want to comfort both of my elderly dogs.  I want to explain to Floppy Kitty why she shouldn’t go into the cow pasture next door.

I want to listen to Tess tell me all about her show career and how it effected her.  I want to know how she feels about her babies…

I want to listen to what all of them have to say!

And when I do get the money to listen to them all, I can feel a little less guilty about spending money because the fees are donated to a worthy cause (Adoption 911) and it is tax deductible!

CONTACT INFORMATION  (I have no affiliation)

Click this link to go to her website.

All animals, not just equines!

HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!

CLICK IMAGE FOR MAY BUCKET FUND! The Last Chance Corral nursemare foals!

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I haven’t had a real Bucket Fund this month for a few reasons… one was that donations have slowed up a bit so I thought I’d give you all a break since it was just tax season…  The other reason is my intended May Bucket Fund group of horses is still stuck where they were – not yet released into safe and capable hands.  So frustrating…

However, when I saw these photos, I just couldn’t ignore the babies.  Nursemare foals really get to me.

In case you don’t know what a nursemare foal is – and many don’t – here is my quick synopsis:

A nurse mare foal is the by-product of creating a nurse mare.  A nurse mare is an equine wet nurse.  Nurse mares are needed to nurse foals who’s natural mother has been taken away to be re-bred (the TB racing rulebook requires ‘live cover’ which prompts valuable mares to be shipped to the stud for breeding).  The newly orphaned ‘more valuable’ foal is moved onto the nurse mare.  The original foal of the nurse mare is outta luck.

Don’t let anyone tell you that this doesn’t happen.

There are more nursemare foals than we can save, sadly.  Luckily, there are some new programs out there that are trying to change it up a bit…  One is the HIL program (Hormone Induced Lactation).  This successful remedy takes unemployed broodmares and turns them into lactating mares to replace the new dams who must go off to be bred.  In this scenario, there are no nursemare foals created.

THE MID MONTH OF MAY BUCKET FUND: THE LAST CHANCE CORRAL NURSEMARE FOALS!

The Last Chance Corral is a Non-Profit out of Ohio that takes in these very young, newly orphaned foals and gives them the start they deserve.

(It is heartbreaking to think that these tiny foals were ripped from their mothers so that the dams could nurse a more valuable baby.  So sad.  This has inspired me to write a blog about successful former nursemare babies.  If you have a story, please write to me:  horseandman@gmail.com)

Back to saving the nursemare foals…  It takes a lot of time and money to raise orphaned, very new horse babies.  They all need around the clock supervision and handling, milk replacer ($$) and some need medical care.  It is a tough, tiring and back breaking job but somebody’s got to step up and do it!

Thank you, Last Chance Corral!

So, let’s support THE LAST CHANCE CORRAL and their newest nursemare crop!

INTRODUCING THE NEWEST MEMBERS OF LAST CHANCE CORRAL 2012

Great color!

Handsome!

Cutie Patootey

Aww

GORGEOUS!

Such a newbie!

Look at that back end!

Color!

Sweet!

WHAT CAN WE DO?!

Let’s fill up their Buckets with Milk and Money for these deserving babies!  Let’s give them the life instead of the doom that they were born into!   Or, if you can adopt, please contact The Last Chance Corral directly!   740-594-4336

If you receive this blog via email, click here to donate!

PLEASE FORWARD!

HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!

Copyright

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I’m not feeling too well today so I’m going to make this short and as informative as I can…

On our Mother’s Day ride today, Finn and I were swarmed.  Big time.

We went to the same place we have gone for 7 years now – during every season – and I’ve never had this happen.

Yes, we had on fly spray.  Both of us.

I needed a suit like this...

OUR JOURNEY

Since it was Mother’s Day, I had to be back home by 11am for brunch so we loaded up and left early.

Maybe that was a mistake because it was cool this morning.  But, not cold.  It was perfect for a ride – and mosquitos, evidently.

Anyway, there weren’t any bugs in the staging area.  We were fine.

It wasn’t until we were on the Trail and Finn did his usual of ‘not walking on the trail’ thing.  He wanted to walk on the side of the trail through the bush.

That is when we first noticed the huge swarms of mosquitos that flew up into his nose, covered his legs and neck and flew all over my face (the rest of me was covered).  It was eerie and kinda gross, actually.  Yeeech.

I kept swatting them off of Finn and then I’d feel a few climbing in my hair under my helmet.  Double Yeech.

So I urged him onward and forward ON the trail.

But the damn things were everywhere!  We could not get away from them!  This was the first time ever that I had run into this type of issue.  Usually the mosquitos are in a bush or near a stream but you can get away.

Today we couldn’t.

Finn kept shaking his head and sneezing.  I kept swatting myself and him like a symphony conductor.

We weren’t having any fun.

So, we left.

Yup.  It was about a 20 minute ride…  And  as we were returning to the trailer, we saw another group of early horsemen.  I told them about the mosquitos and said that we had decided to turn back.  The looked at me dubiously but they, too, turned back to get some spray to bring along.  I hope it went better for them.

Run for your lives!!

RESEARCH

I did some research upon my arrival back home.

Yes, only females will bite but they all swarm.  The live in shaded bushes, tall grasses and trees (lucky us!).

Mosquitos are attracted to movement, heat and carbon dioxide.  So, if you are a sweaty, warm, heavy breathing animal, you are a prime target.

I found a few homemade remedies and then upon further research realized that they were equally toxic to the human as the mosquito (so I won’t publish them here…).  I did find one home remedy that seemed interesting although I haven’t tried it yet:

“I always rub a little liquid detergent soap and/or canola oil, all over my skin when I’m outside near my compost pile or garden. All soft body insects hate it!”

I also found this site that had tons of info about mosquitos, what attracts them and repellants.

And, of course, many reviews of insect repellants.

One of the many reviews

MY NEXT PURCHASE

I’ve decided to try a repellant called, KONK.  The company is based in Florida and if anyone would know about mosquitos, it would be people from Florida…  It is all natural and has some very good reviews.  I don’t know why I haven’t seen it before… but I haven’t.  So, if any of you have any experience with it, please let me know.

From what I could surmise, when the mosquitos are swarming, Konk is the stuff to have in your saddlebag.  I wish I had had some of that with me today, for sure.  Those buggers were everywhere.  It was epic. For me, I don’t ever want to go through that again – nor do I want Finn to be exposed.

So, let me know if you’ve used Konk – or if you have a ‘sure-fire’ remedy for swarming mosquitos.

I will post your information!

HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!

BUCKET FUND for the nursemare babies... click image!

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Although I no longer breed, I so miss the babies…

And, I miss the broodmares – they are truly amazing.  Not only do they protect the herd and keep everyone in line, but they pass on their individual and unique skills to their babies…

My Tess, for example, taught all of her babies to potty in one spot.  Sam taught her baby how to ‘circle the wagons’ during an invasion.

But what was most fun for me was the ‘surprise’ inside aspect of horse incubation… I loved the anticipation of what gender and color would enter the world.  In fact, when I rescued Sam who was 10 months pregnant, I had no information about her or the stud.  So, the baby was a total Grab Bag Surprise.  I loved that!

For me, looking at the baby and seeing which traits came through and from which parent is very exciting to me.

I should have been a geneticist.

Anyway, I grabbed several pics off the web to celebrate the broodmares this Mother’s Day.  I hope you all have a great day!

Cutie

Spots!

Newbie!

Muley!

Lovely!

Cutie!

Alert baby!

i love this one!

Leggy!

Surprise color!

Wheeeeee!

Look at those back legs!

Talented baby!

Love color!

Great shot!

Shorties!

Love this!

Pretty pair

Protective mother... sweaty baby

Awww

Great profile

They ahve almost opposite coloring

Gotta love the Shetlands!

Handsome

Spots!

Sweet!

Love the color!

Are we interrupting something?...

!

Another newbie

Great braids! Someone loves the broodmare!

This is my Sam and her Mini-Me on their first day outside!

love this

I love the manes

I think that is a colt

Love the colors!

Great faces!

This is my Tess with her Ava...

Mustangs...!

I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did gathering the photos!  Have a great day!

HORSE AND MAN is a blog in growth… if you like this, please pass it around!

May Bucket Fund for the Nursemare babies! Abandoned and rescued ... THE LAST CHANCE CORRAL. click image

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